Eel - How do I feed him

[Rosco's Reefs]

Also in the tank I inherited was this gorgeous eel.  You only see him at night when he comes out for food.  Problem is when I throw fresh food in it begins to disintegrate and he swims right past it.  What suggestions do you have?  I even thought about a long forceps with a chunk of tuna (turkey?) on it. Thx

 

[Origami]

Ross, one of our members recently got a blue ribbon eel that he's had trouble feeding. Anyway, in that thread, I think that Coral Hind posted information about how to feed eels.

[L8 2 RISE]

With my bigger eels, I usually just get shrimp from the store, cut them in half if necessary, and feed with forceps or my fingers.  Snowflakes really don't hurt that bad when they bite until they're much bigger (even then not bad- they have small teeth), so don't worry too much about it.

 

 Eels are pretty much blind and rely mainly on their smell.  It's not unusual for them to swim right past food in the tank.  Hold it with the forceps and just wiggle it around until he comes- or just stick it in front of his face.  If you're having trouble getting him to eat, use fishing line, tie it around the food and dangle/wiggle it in the tank.  That rarely fails.

[Grav]

We feed our 20" Zebra Moray: Scallops, Shrimp, Squid and more.  I find that the greatest issue is getting the nearly blind animal comfortable with the surroundings, and surprisingly.... more tank mates seems to help a lot. 

 

We feed the Eel Saturdays at 4:00... it's a free show!

 

Phil

[Rosco's Reefs]

cool, great advice!  How much do you feed and how often.  Saw the reference to Saturday at 4:00.  Do you just let him eat until full?

[davelin315]

I feed my eels using tongs. The second they smell the food (which is usually when I bring it close to the tank) they go nuts. They are very responsive to sight and sound as well, at least in my opinion, as when I get close they go nuts and come out and when I move the cover they can feel the movement and start swarming.

 

I would offer chunks of shrimp to begin with. The snowflake is a pebble toothed moray so it's designed to eat crustaceans and molluscs in the wild. They will also take fish, but the ideal foods for them are the "softer" bodied crustaceans.

 

By the way, it's not unusual for a moray to go on a hunger strike when it's moved or water conditions go south. I have had them not eat for over 4 months before when they were moved and threw a temper tantrum. This is obviously not good for them, but they can handle not eating when they are larger for long periods of time.

 

In terms of how much to feed, feed until it's full. You'll know when it stops coming after food. My eels typically will eat about 4-5 large shrimp per feeding but they are a bit on the larger side.

[Coral Hind]

Great info above! Chunks of thawed table shrimp work best for this type of eel. Feeding tongs are very helpful or use a feeding stick like a wood kabob skewer. If you have other large fish that go after the food before the eel can get to then buy an eel feeding tube or make one from PVC pipe.   

[Rosco's Reefs]

Thx all. Several good videos on you-tube

[Coral Hind]

Some people use their hands to feed but I do not recommend that as it can make doing any work in the tank hard once they assosiate your hand as a food source.

[wade]

Also - for almost all store bought shrimp, rinse them very well with freshwater before placing them into the tank.  Almost all of the sellers use phosphate based soap-like compounds to preserve freshness.  It won't hurt the eel (that I'm aware of), but can make a mess in the tank if you feed a lot.

[Coral Hind]

Good point Wade! Those compounds can also make the skimmer go crazy for a few minutes after you feed.

[Origami]

Also - for almost all store bought shrimp, rinse them very well with freshwater before placing them into the tank.  Almost all of the sellers use phosphate based soap-like compounds to preserve freshness.  It won't hurt the eel (that I'm aware of), but can make a mess in the tank if you feed a lot.

Sodium tri-poly phosphate. It's also used to boost weight (it soaks into the cells and is hygroscopic) and to give seafoods a glistening appearance that we equate to freshness. Rinsing will get it off of the surface, but it won't remove the stuff that's been absorbed.

[wade]

I actually looked into this stuff a while back - apparently they can use mono, di, or tri-PO4.  I found no reference to it being absorbed, only to retaining water on the surface and lending shine.  It would be a hard sell to convince me that it gets absorbed into dead tissue. Its rather large and active transport is already shut down by that time. Unless you have ruptured cells, but then your shrimp would be very gritty on the outside.

 

At any rate, consumption would mean much of it would be bound up in protein (hopefully) inside the fish itself.  I'm mostly concerned about the volume put on it that may be added directly to the tank.  It would dissociate very rapidly.  And I know they often use some form of lipid/detergent in the mix, which is probably why the frothing occurs that Coral Hind mentioned.

[Origami]

I actually looked into this stuff a while back - apparently they can use mono, di, or tri-PO4.  I found no reference to it being absorbed, only to retaining water on the surface and lending shine.  It would be a hard sell to convince me that it gets absorbed into dead tissue. Its rather large and active transport is already shut down by that time. Unless you have ruptured cells, but then your shrimp would be very gritty on the outside.

 

At any rate, consumption would mean much of it would be bound up in protein (hopefully) inside the fish itself.  I'm mostly concerned about the volume put on it that may be added directly to the tank.  It would dissociate very rapidly.  And I know they often use some form of lipid/detergent in the mix, which is probably why the frothing occurs that Coral Hind mentioned.

I don't think that it's dynamically transported across a dead cell membrane, but is driven across either into the surface cells where contact is made with the solution is made or between. The reason I thought this has to do with the means by which it drives excess water into the meat to enhance weight by adding water. You can see the practical effects of STP when cooking treated samples, watching a lot of excess water being driven out of the meat very quickly, even if rinsed.

 

Here's a paper that I came across a while back when looking into STPP possibly being a factor in some members' ongoing phosphate battles.  I inferred from the experimental protocol, wherein they were finding TPP in cooked tissue that it was, indeed, in the tissue and not merely on it. Still, by the nature of the processing (soaking, spraying, tumbling), it appears that it works on the tissues it comes into contact with and, thus, probably affects the outermost parts of the treated meats more than the innermost parts. How deeply this skin effect goes, Im not sure.

[zygote2k]

I feed eels and mantis shrimps by hand. Only big eels pose a threat- think about it as if it were a snake. More than 24" should be fed with tongs/stick etc.

[Rosco's Reefs]

Thanks for all the advice. I stopped by Food Lion, got some shrimp, washed and chopped carefully and used a small stick to feed,  Talk about one fat and sassy eel!

[Coral Hind]

I'm glad it's eating good now. I don't feed eels daily, only every other day or if it was a big meal I'll skip a few days. Watch your nitrate readings as they may climb fast from the large feedings. 

[sen5241b]

Use tongs.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JenbH-hiBDQ

[Origami]

Use tongs.

That was hard to watch.

[wade]

I bet that thumb tasted better than the hot dog. Extra juicy!

[paul b]

 I even thought about a long forceps with a chunk of tuna (turkey?) on it.

 

He may eat the turkey tomorrow, it's Thanksgiving.